by Mark Billingham (Little, Brown)
Detective Tom Thorne is recovering in hospital from a bullet wound from a prior fracas when he gets the good news/bad news.
The good news is he is being reinstated to the Murder Squad after being demoted to uniform and facing a possible sacking.
The bad news is that Stuart Nicklin, the worst psychopath Thorne’s ever bust, has promised to reveal the burial site of one of his victims, but only if Thorne escorts him.
This killing happened 25 years before on an isolated island off Wales. Nicklin and the victim were part of a project for young offenders, an attempt to catch those who showed promise of overcoming their troubles and becoming good citizens.
Thorne doesn’t like it. Nicklin is a master of manipulation, and will never get out of prison. Thorne wants to know “why now?”
He and his team head off to the beautifully bleak island where some things don’t go to plan: at least, not Thorne’s.
The plot is so interwoven that even the smallest hint here could give the game away. But rest assured, if it’s fine characterisation and pressure-cooker build-up (and explosion) of tension you want, this is a goodie.